UPDATE: Tinley Park's Gunther Gets the Biggest Roar from the Crowd

Tinley Park softball standout Alyssa Gunther is swinging a red hot bat for the Titans. And she's swinging for the fences in Patchland, too. Gunther outpolled 10 others in Patch's weekly MVP poll. She is now eligible for May Athlete of the Month recognitio

Your Patch is a place to celebrate local high school athletes. Show your support for these prep sports MVPs—each of whom is Athlete of the Week in his or her local Patch—by cheering them on in the comments thread, sharing your own photos with the Patch community and voting in the poll. Do you think we're missing someone? Tell us in the comments and share his or her photo to the gallery above. (It's easy. Just click the Upload Photos and Videos link — learn more here.) Read more about this week's MVPs in the photo gallery, and show your support for them by: There is one more way for you to become a more interactive fan: Sign up to become a Patch sports blogger. (Learn more about blogging on Patch here).

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Sandburg Badminton Team Picks Up Where it Left Off—With Another Title

Kara Kentner, Jenna Ciaccio and Julie Meza won singles titles as the Sandburg girls badminton team rolled to the championship in the Lincoln-Way Central Invitational on Saturday in New Lenox.

When the season ended a year ago, the Sandburg's girls badminton team was sitting on top of the IHSA heap. The Eagles flew two the 2011 state championship last spring. When the new season started a couple of weeks ago, Sandburg faced questions of how it would overcome the loss of some of its most talented players from that squad. The answer: Quite nicely. Sandburg scored 33 points and placed first in the Lincoln-Way Central Invitational on Saturday in New Lenox. The Eagles picked up first-place finishes from Kara Kentner (No. 1 singles), Jenna Ciaccio (No. 2 singles), Julie Meza (No. 3 singles) and Rebecca Cuculich and Nicole Davids (No. 3 doubles). The Eagles are coached by Kim Huelsman. Kentner placed fifth in singles competition at the …

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Girls Volleyball Photo Gallery: Sandburg Sends Out Seniors in Style

Kara Kentner, Joanna Curtis, Kristen Bailey and Jane Tunney lead the way in Sandburg's straight-sets volleyball victory over Homewood-Flossmoor on Senior Night.

Four seniors had a hand in Sandburg's 25-15, 25-21 girls volleyball victory over Homewood-Flossmoor on Thursday night in Orland Park. And that was by design. It was Senior Night for the Eagles. Kara Kentner had nine assists and six kills. Joanna Curtis chipped in nine assists. Kristen Bailey had three blocks. Jane Tunney added four kills and four blocks. All four were recognized along with their parents prior to the start of the match. For Homewood-Flossmoor, Kaitlin Shereyk led the way with eight kills and six digs. Evely Weidman had five kills and four digs. Check out the action.

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Local Sports Notebook

Sandburg Volleyball Places Third at Wheaton Classic

Sandburg grad Michael Schofield cutting his teeth in offensive line at University of Michigan. Football Eagles slip past Lincoln-Way Central.

The Sandburg girls volleball team entered play at the Wheaton Classic after coming off a commanding victory in its home-opener against Thornton Thursday (25-7, 25-4). The two-game sweep was good for Eagle momentum and Sandburg carried that momentum over in Wheaton. The Eagles opened with a 25-20, 25-21 sweep of Marist, handing the RedHawks their first loss of the season. And they advanced to semifinal play before losing to Hinsdale South 25-20, 25-20. In the third place match, Sandburg defeated Hinsdale Central 25-21, 25-20. In the pool play stages of the tournament, the Eagles defeated both Downers Grove North (26-24, 25-15) and Plainfield Central (25-18, 25-22). The Eagles picked up outstanding efforts from senior setter Kara Kentner (44…

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Little Dig, Big Victory: Marist Maintains No. 1 Position in Weekly Patch Volleyball Poll

Deirdre Howard's dig helps Marist rally from a 23-20 deficit in Game 1 of a thrilling straight-sets volleyball victory over Mother McAuley. Lincoln-Way East moves up to No. 3, looks to ease back into action after brief layoff.

1. Marist (6-0): Kelly Marcinek had seven kills as the RedHawks rallied to down Mother McAuley in straight sets. Marist trailed 23-20 in Game 1 when Deirdre Howard’s controversial dig turned the momentum of the match in favor of the RedHawks. Last week: No. 1. Next: Saturday at Wheaton Classic. 2. Sandburg (3-1): Dakota Hampton ripped 11 kills in the Eagles’ three-set victory over Stagg. Kristen Bailey added six kills and five blocks. Kara Kentner chipped in 21 assists and six kills. Last week: No. 2. Next: Thursday vs. Thornton, Saturday at Wheaton Classic. 3. Lincoln-Way East (4-0): Four-year regular Lauren Behrens and senior outside hitter Makayla Weller had Lincoln-Way East cruising in the early going. Now, if the Griffins just can …

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Local Sports Notebook

Village of Orland Park Enters Partnership With Bulls/Sox Academy

Beginning on Oct. 4, youngsters ages 5-17 will be able to train in Bulls/Sox Academy facility in the Orland Sportsplex.

Move over Halloween. October no longer is only a month for ghosts and goblins. The Bulls/Sox Training Academy is coming to Orland Park. On Oct. 4, Orland Park youngsters between the ages of 5-17 will have an opportunity to work on their basketball, baseball and fast-pitch softball skills or their overall conditioning. The Village of Orland Park announced a partnership with the Bulls/Sox Training Academy. The academy will house its Orland Park lessons at the Orland Sportsplex, 11351 W. 159th St. “We couldn’t be happier with this relationship," said Joe Lachcik, president of operations at the Bulls/Sox Academy, in a news release. "Orland Park is a wonderful family-centric community that takes its sports very seriously. "The Orland Park …

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Local Sports Notebook

Barna: Sandburg Plays its Ace in the Hole

Amanda Barna pitched the Eagles to a 5-0 victory over New Trier and once again showed why she is in line to take more innings next season.

Sandburg captured the Southwest Suburban Blue softball title with a win over Lincoln-Way East on Monday. The Eagles added three more wins and took a 23-5 record into the weekend. One of those wins came against a tough New Trier team. The day before, the Eagles celebrated senior day. And senior shortstop Lizzie Wojtowicz carried the theme over in a 5-0 win over the Trevians. She went 4-for-4 with a pair of singles, a double, and drove in one run. Senior catcher Lexi Bryant went 2-for-3 with a single, a double and two RBIs. But it was junior Amanda Barna who was the story on the mound. She tossed a two-hit shutout and struck out three. She has worked behind the Eagles' Lora Olson much of the season. "We were a mistake or two away from …

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Wagner, Kentner Lead Sandburg to State Badminton Title

Lincoln-Way Central and Andrew finish in a five-way tie for eighth place.

Sandburg’s Katie Wagner and Lincoln-Way Central’s Jessica Glennon are conference and neighborhood rivals. They have grown accustomed to squaring off against one another on the badminton court. So, when they met in the third-place match in the IHSA state tournament, it was no surprise, really. Nor was it a surprise that Wagner edged Glennon 21-17, 21-13 to cap an exciting weekend for her individually and the Eagles as team. She reached the semifinals before falling to Loran Pasko of Thornton Factional South (12-21, 21-19, 21-18). Wagner’s strong play powered Sandburg to the state championship with a team total of 14.5 points. T.F. South wound up second with 11.5 and New Trier was third with 11. Glennon also advanced to the semifinals before…

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Local Sports Notebook

Sandburg Boys Grab Water Polo Title

Eagles take care of business against Lincoln-Way Central, Homewood-Flossmoor.

In the final week of the regular season, the Sandburg boys water polo team needed just one more conference win to wrap up the SWSC Blue title. And the Eagles did one better than that. Sandburg notched a 14-4 victory over Lincoln-Way Central on Monday that clinched a share of the crown for the Eagles. But there was still one team standing between Sandburg and sole possession of some new hardware. Homewood-Flossmoor came in on Wednesday with a chance to gain a share of the conference title, as the teams each had one conference loss going in, but the Eagle attack put them away 10-4. Sandburg wrapped up the week with a non-conference match against Naperville Central, which Naperville Central took 8-4. The Eagles head into sectional play with a…

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Local Sports Notebook

Verzbicas Running in Footsteps of Greats

Sandburg distance ace took a trip to Boston for a pre-marathon race and turned in another strong showing.

This past Monday was the 115th running of the Boston Marathon, and while Sandburg's Lukas Verzbicas wasn't in the field of 26,000, he was in Boston last Sunday to compete in one of several pre-marathon races. Verzbicas ran in the Boston Athletic Association Invitational Mile. He finished in second, just one-tenth of a second behind the British pro Andrew Baddeley. The Boston Globe was on hand to cover the race. After a dominant victory over Stagg on Monday, top-rated Sandburg followed up with a straight-sets win over Andrew. In the match against the T-Bolts, Kevin Groeper, Bill Siroky and Tom Carmody each had four kills. Nick Bendell tacked on 22 assists as the Eagles won by scores 25-19 and 25-21.  Sandburg finished the week with a record…

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